JPH10124144A - Vehicle traveling guiding device and guidance type sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a guidance tape on a traveling road possible to be follower with high accuracy, to make deflection quantity to the left or right small at the time of traveling and also to improve the responsiveness by shortening the time that is needed to complete correction. SOLUTION: Tape sensors 3 and 4 which one-dimensionally detect the relative position of a guidance tape 1 against a vehicle 2 are attached to the vehicle 2 that travels on a traveling road surface on which the tape 1 is installed. The traveling direction of the vehicle 2 is controlled by calculating the deviation of the vehicle 2 and the deviation of its attitude angle against a traveling course based on the position information of the tape 1 which is separately detected by the sensors 3 and 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle traveling guidance system for a vehicle capable of moving in all directions by detecting a guiding tape laid on a traveling path by a sensor installed on the vehicle side to steer wheels. The present invention relates to an apparatus and an induction tape sensor used for the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a vehicle that can move in all directions by unmanned or automatic driving on a predetermined route is to be run, as shown in FIG. 11, a guide tape 1 is laid on the running route. In addition, the traveling of the vehicle 2 is controlled by steering the wheels 5 to 8 while detecting this by the tape sensor 3 installed in the vehicle 2. Conventionally, a mark 41 is provided on one side of the guide tape 1 on the road surface, and the mark 41 is similarly detected by the mark sensors 43 and 44 on the vehicle 2 side and used for confirming a position on the traveling route. As shown in the figure, two conventional mark sensors 43 and 44 are arranged at positions symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal center line, which is a locus of the guide tape 1 passing through the vehicle 2. In the case where the vehicle 2 travels in the front-rear direction in the same posture without turning 180 degrees with respect to the traveling road, the vehicle 2
Is provided with only the mark sensor 43 on the mark 41 side.

[0003]

In this conventional running control, only one guide tape sensor is installed, and the relative displacement of the guide tape with respect to the vehicle can be detected. Even if the angle deviated from the normal running state, it could not be detected directly from the sensor. Therefore, since the vehicle travels while correcting the lateral displacement amount by steering operation without correcting the displacement of the vehicle posture, the amount of right and left swing during traveling increases, and the displacement is corrected only by steering operation. It took a certain amount of time to complete the correction. Further, with respect to a traveling road in which two or more traveling roads intersect, it is impossible to change the traveling road by making the vehicle traverse or skew at the intersection at the intersection. Further, since the conventional mark sensor is disposed symmetrically with respect to the position where the guide tape passes when the vehicle moves forward and backward, it is possible to detect the mark only when the vehicle moves forward and backward, and the traveling vehicle When the vehicle traversed along the guide tape while turning 180 degrees, the mark laid on the road surface could not be detected.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 provides a vehicle which travels on a traveling road surface on which a guide tape is laid, a one-dimensional relative position of the guide tape with respect to the vehicle. , Two or more tape sensors are installed. Based on the position information of the guide tape detected by each of the two or more tape sensors, a deviation amount of the vehicle position and a deviation amount of the posture angle of the vehicle with respect to the traveling path are calculated, and the deviation amount of the vehicle position and the posture angle of the vehicle are calculated. Then, a position deviation correction target value and a posture angle deviation correction target value are calculated based on the deviation amount, and then the wheels are driven and controlled based on both the calculated correction target values.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle can travel in a plurality of directions, a tape sensor is disposed opposite to a front and rear position in each traveling direction of the vehicle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the tape sensor is disposed obliquely to the direction of the guide tape.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect of the invention, when the traveling direction of the vehicle is three directions of the front-rear direction, the lateral direction, and the oblique direction, the three directions are defined by three sides. A tape sensor is provided at each of the vertices of the right triangle.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, when the traveling direction of the vehicle is the front-rear direction and the lateral direction, the guide tapes pass during traveling. A pair of mark sensors are disposed at point-symmetric positions with respect to the intersection of the longitudinal tape locus and the lateral tape locus of the vehicle.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle traveling guidance apparatus for controlling a traveling direction of a vehicle while detecting a guidance tape laid on a traveling road surface by a tape sensor provided on the vehicle, and a sensor element for detecting the guidance tape. Are used in a ring shape.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a plurality of sensor elements for detecting a guide tape used in a vehicle travel guiding device are arranged in a ring shape.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment according to the first aspect of the present invention. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a guide tape laid on a traveling path, on which a guide tape 1 is attached.
The vehicle 2 runs along. Vehicle 2 is in the right direction (X direction)
Assuming that the vehicle travels, the guide tape sensor 3 is attached to the front end and the guide tape sensor 4 is attached to the rear end. The sensors 3 and 4 are configured by one-dimensionally arranging detection elements in a direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the guide tape 1 and detect the position of the guide tape 1 in the Y direction with respect to the sensors 3 and 4 in bit units. I do.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control unit of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the control unit in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the position information of the guide tape 1 detected by the sensors 3 and 4 is sent to the shift amount detecting means 31. Here, assuming that the state in which the guide tape 1 is located at the center of the sensors 3 and 4 is normal traveling, if the detection position of the guide tape 1 by the sensors 3 and 4 is shifted from the center, the shift amount detecting means 31 The shift amount of the vehicle 2 is calculated. Specifically, assuming that the amount by which the center position of the vehicle 2 deviates from the traveling path is Dv, and the amounts of deviation in the Y direction detected by the sensors 3 and 4 are Zf and Zr, respectively.
The deviation amount Dv of the vehicle 2 is obtained by the following equation.

[0013]

Dv = (Zf + Zr) / 2

Further, the deviation angle θv of the attitude angle of the vehicle 2, that is, the angle of the vehicle in the horizontal plane deviating from the direction of the guide tape 1 is obtained by the following equation, where S is the mounting interval of the sensors 3 and 4.

[0015]

Equation 2 θv = Tan ⁻¹ {(zf−zr) / S}

Next, the calculated deviation amounts Dv, θv
Is sent to the target value calculating means 32. Target value calculation means 3
Reference numeral 2 denotes a target value Xv for correcting a displacement in the X direction of the vehicle coordinate system, a target value Yv for correcting a displacement in the Y direction, and a vehicle with respect to the guide tape 1, based on the displacement amounts Dv and θv of the vehicle. A target value αv for correcting the deviation of the posture angle of No. 2 is calculated. Therefore, in FIG.
Is set to a target value so as to travel to points Pn-1, Pn, and Pn + 1 on the guide tape 1.

Here, the interval L between the points is a moving distance for each sampling cycle when the vehicle 2 runs at a constant speed. Assuming that the reference position of the vehicle 2 is Pn *, the reference position Pn
The deviation between * and the target position Pn is the lateral deviation Dv and the attitude angle deviation θv obtained by the above-described deviation detecting means 31, and these deviations are 0, that is, the position Pn * is The target values Xv, Yv, and αv for moving to the position Pn + 1 at the time of sampling are obtained by the following equations.

[0018]

(Equation 3)

[0019]

(Equation 4)

[0020]

## EQU5 ## αv = −θv

Here, in Equations 3 and 4, the detected θv is very small, so that cos θvｃｏ1 and sin θv ≒
Assuming θv, Equations 3 and 4 can be rewritten as the following equations.

[0022]

Xv = L−Dv · θv

[0023]

Equation 7 Yv = Dv + L · θv

The respective target values Xv, Yv, αv calculated by the target value calculating means 32 are sent to the motor control means 33 and used for controlling the driving of the wheels 5-8. The drive control of the wheels 5 to 8 is performed according to a specific drive mechanism of the wheels 5 to 8. For example, although not shown, when all of the wheels 5 to 8 are constituted by driving wheels that also serve as steering wheels, the present applicant has already filed Japanese Patent Application No. 7-345.
It is also possible to use the drive control method described in “omnidirectional vehicle and its control direction” filed as No. 984.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, guide tape sensors 11 and 12 are also attached to positions on the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle 2. It is used when traversing or skewing in the same posture. Further, in addition to the X-direction guide tape 1, a Y-direction guide tape 13 and oblique-direction guide tapes 14 to 17 are laid on the road surface.

In this embodiment, in addition to the displacement of the guide tape 1 in the Y direction being detected by the sensors 3 and 4, the displacement of the guide tape 13 in the X direction is detected by the sensors 11 and 12. Further, the displacement of the guide tapes 14 to 17 is also oblique to the sensors 3, 4 and the sensor 1
1 and 12. In particular, the guiding tape 14-1
In the case of detecting the sensor 7, since the sensors 3, 4 and the sensors 11, 12 are arranged obliquely with respect to the tapes 14 to 17, the pitch of the detecting elements of the sensor becomes dense, the resolution is improved, and the running control is performed. The accuracy is improved.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the mounting directions of the sensors 3 and 4 in the first embodiment of FIG. 1 are oblique. Also in this case, the pitch of the detection elements of the sensors 3 and 4 becomes denser and the resolution of the guide tape 1 in the Y direction is improved due to the fact that the sensors 3 and 4 are mounted obliquely with respect to the vehicle 2 and the accuracy of the traveling control is improved. Is improved.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the sensor 4 and the sensor 11 are removed from the configuration of the second embodiment in FIG. 4, and an induction tape sensor 18 is installed obliquely at the center of the vehicle 2. The vehicle 2 travels in the front-rear direction along the guide tape 1 and traverses along the guide tape 13.
5 is skewed. When the vehicle 2 runs in the X direction, the guide tape 1 is detected by the sensors 3 and 18; when the vehicle 2 runs in the Y direction, the guide tape 13 is detected by the sensors 12 and 18; 15 is detected by the sensor 3 and the sensor 12.
In this embodiment, each sensor 3, sensor 12, sensor 1
Since the guide tapes 8 detect the guide tapes in two directions, respectively, the number of sensors is reduced by half and the configuration is simplified.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a modification of the configuration of the fourth embodiment in FIG. 6, in which the sensor 18 is attached to the rear end and the sensor 12 is moved to the rear in accordance with it. In this embodiment, the mounting interval d of Expression 2 is increased by the length of the mounting interval of the sensor in the X direction, and the detection accuracy of the vehicle angle is improved as compared with the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is also a modification of the configuration of the fourth embodiment in FIG. 6, and the sensor 3 is located at the left front end, the sensor 12 is located at the right rear end, and the sensor 18 is located at the left rear end with respect to the traveling direction. , Respectively. This embodiment is
Equation 2 is obtained by increasing the mounting interval of the sensor in both the X and Y directions.
Is longer, and the detection accuracy of the vehicle angle is improved as compared with the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a seventh embodiment according to the fifth aspect of the present invention. In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the guide tape sensors 3 and 4 are attached to the front and rear ends of the vehicle 2, and the guide tape sensors 11 and 12 are attached to the left and right side edges. A guide tape 13 in the Y direction orthogonal to the guide tape 1 in the X direction is laid on the road surface. Accordingly, the vehicle 2 can travel along the guide tape 1 laid in the front-rear direction and traverse along the guide tape 13 in the same posture. A mark 41 is provided on one side of the guide tape 1 and a mark 42 is provided on one side of the guide tape 13 on the road surface.

On the other hand, the vehicle 2 has a mark sensor 43 on the locus of the mark 41 to detect the mark 41.
Is installed, and a mark sensor 44 is installed on the locus of the mark 42 to detect the mark 42. Here, the installation positions of the mark sensors 43 and 44 are determined by the passage locus 45 of the guide tape 1 and the passage locus 46 of the guide tape 13 drawn in the respective traveling directions in the vehicle 2.
Are arranged so as to be point-symmetrical with respect to the intersection 47 of.

Therefore, the vehicle 2 is moved 180 degrees from the illustrated posture.
When you try to run back and forth or traverse after turning
The positions of the respective mark sensors 43, 44 are opposite to the guide tapes 1, 13, so that the mark sensors 43, 44 before turning are the same as the marks 41, 42 which have been matched so far.
However, the other marks are replaced by each other and detected by the mark sensors 43 and 44. That is, even when the vehicle 2 travels back and forth or traverses while turning 180 degrees, only one pair of mark sensors for detecting marks is required. In addition, it is possible to detect the turning position of the vehicle 2 on the road surface by detecting which of the mark sensors 43 and 44 detects the mark during traveling.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an eighth embodiment according to the sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention. In the figure, reference numerals 21 to 24 denote guide tapes laid in the X direction, the Y direction, and the diagonal two directions on the running path, and intersect at the center position of the vehicle 2. The vehicle 2 runs along these guide tapes 21 to 24. A guide tape sensor 25 formed in a ring shape is attached to the center position of the vehicle 2. This sensor 25 is formed by arranging a plurality of sensor elements for detecting an induction tape in a ring shape.

Thus, when the guide tape passes through the center of the sensor 25, the position of the guide tape is detected by two sensor elements on the sensor 25. That is, according to the sensor 25, it is possible to detect the guide tape with the same accuracy in all directions. as a result,
As shown in the figure, even when the travel route is configured as an eight-distance road, when the sensor 25 reaches the intersection, the sensor 25 accurately recognizes the direction of each of the tapes 21 to 24 and facilitates the route change. It is possible to do. In particular, a vehicle using this sensor is most suitable for use in traveling while freely changing the traveling direction.

Although not described in the description of each embodiment, sensors for detecting the guide tape include a system for optically detecting the guide tape and a system for magnetically detecting the guide tape. When one-dimensionally arranged sensors are used, by installing a plurality of pairs of sensors in the vehicle, it is possible to control traveling and route changes in a plurality of directions with high accuracy. Further, with respect to a sensor in which the detection elements are arranged in a ring shape, it is possible to control traveling in all directions and route change with high accuracy by merely installing one sensor in the vehicle.

[0037]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, two or more tape sensors are installed in a vehicle, and the vehicle with respect to the traveling route is based on the position information of the guide tape detected by each of the tape sensors. The position shift amount and the vehicle position angle shift amount are calculated. A position shift correction target value and a posture angle shift correction target value are calculated based on the shift amounts, and then the wheels are driven and controlled based on the calculated both correction target values. As a result, it is possible to follow the guide tape on the traveling path with high accuracy, the amount of right and left deflection during traveling is reduced, and the time required for completing the correction is shortened, and the responsiveness is improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle can travel in a plurality of directions, the tape sensor is disposed relative to the front and rear positions in each of the traveling directions of the vehicle, so that the vehicle moves in a traverse direction other than the forward and backward traveling. , Skew is possible.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the tape sensor is disposed obliquely to the direction of the guide tape,
The detection accuracy of the guide tape is improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the traveling direction of the vehicle is three directions of the front-back direction, the lateral direction, and the oblique direction, the vertices of the right-angled triangle having the three directions as three sides are obtained. By arranging the tape sensor at each position,
Although the running direction is three directions, the number of tape sensors is halved to three.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the traveling direction of the vehicle is the front-rear direction and the lateral direction, the guide tape passes through the intersection of the longitudinal tape locus and the lateral tape locus of the vehicle through which the guide tape passes. On the other hand, a pair of mark sensors are disposed at point-symmetric positions. As a result, even if the vehicle turns 180 degrees when the traveling direction of the vehicle is the front-rear direction and the lateral direction,
A mark sensor can always detect a mark.

According to the sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention,
In a vehicle traveling guidance device that controls the traveling direction of a vehicle while detecting a guidance tape laid on a traveling road surface with a tape sensor installed in the vehicle, a plurality of sensor elements for detecting the guidance tape are arranged in a ring shape. When the center position of the sensor is made to run on the guide tape by using the formed tape sensor, the sensor detects the guide tape in two places, and the displacement amount of the vehicle position and the displacement amount of the attitude angle are detected. Can be calculated, it is possible to perform high-precision traveling control and change the traveling route even with one sensor.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control unit of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a control unit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Induction tape 2 Vehicle 3,4 Induction tape sensor 5-8 Wheel 11,12 Induction tape sensor 13-17 Induction tape 18 Induction tape sensor 21-24 Induction tape 25 Induction tape sensor 31 Shift amount detection means 32 Target value calculation means 33 Motor control means 41, 42 Mark 43, 44 Mark sensor 45, 46 Trajectory 47 Intersection

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A guide tape laid on a traveling road surface, a tape sensor installed on two or more vehicles and one-dimensionally detecting a relative position of the guide tape with respect to the vehicle, and a tape sensor detected by two or more tape sensors. Means for calculating a deviation amount of the vehicle position and a deviation amount of the attitude angle of the vehicle with respect to the traveling route based on the position information of the guide tape, and a positional deviation amount based on the calculated deviation amount of the vehicle position and the deviation angle of the posture angle of the vehicle. A vehicle travel guidance device comprising: means for calculating a correction target value and a posture angle deviation correction target value; and means for driving and controlling wheels based on both of the calculated correction target values. 2. The vehicle travel guiding device according to claim 1, wherein a tape sensor is provided relative to the front and rear positions in each of the traveling directions of the vehicle when the vehicle can travel in a plurality of directions. Vehicle travel guidance device. 3. The vehicle traveling guidance device according to claim 2, wherein a tape sensor is disposed obliquely to a direction of the guidance tape. 4. The vehicle traveling guidance device according to claim 2, wherein when the traveling direction of the vehicle is three directions of the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction, and the oblique direction of the vehicle, the three directions are defined as three sides. And a tape sensor disposed at each of the vertices of the right-angled triangle. 5. The vehicle traveling guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the guidance tape passes through the vehicle during traveling when the traveling direction of the vehicle is a front-rear direction and a lateral direction. A vehicle travel guidance device, wherein a pair of mark sensors are disposed at point-symmetric positions with respect to an intersection of a longitudinal tape locus and a lateral tape locus of a vehicle. 6. A vehicle travel guidance device for controlling a traveling direction of a vehicle while detecting a guidance tape laid on a traveling road surface by a tape sensor installed on the vehicle, wherein a plurality of ring-shaped sensor elements for detecting the guidance tape are provided. A vehicle travel guidance device characterized by using a tape sensor formed by individually arranging the tape sensors. 7. An induction tape sensor, wherein a plurality of sensor elements for detecting an induction tape used in a vehicle traveling guidance device are arranged in a ring shape.